Hibisha: Wow. That was longer than usual. I'm sorry for taking such a long time but I had to write this twice. First time I wrote half of it and my laptop shut down. Then I started working on it in university but the computers over there suck. Finally I managed to get my hands on my brother's laptop and wrote this whole thing again.
Anyway a quick mention: This is not a FushimiXOC story. Not at any point. Not even as a drunken one night stand. Just saying.
Also, once again I'm sorry for the delay in update but like I said, laptop's down-again. I'm going to try to get another chapter up soon though.
Chapter 02: Kiss
Fushimi looked around the room to take in his surroundings. Apart from the bed and the dresser, the room was oddly bare. Dust covered the floor so it was probably safe to assume the room had not been used in a long time. The girl, who had been staring at herself in the mirror, had greeted him, handed him his glasses and had slipped out of the room – as if random strangers woke up in her house on a daily basis.
Really- was there no end to the idiots in this world? Grimacing, he pushed himself up and pulled off the covers to assess the damage done to his body. A deep purple bruising on his ribcage made him wince internally. If he didn't know any better, that looked as if-
"You fractured a rib and lost a lot of blood." His head jerked in the direction of the girl who had once again, materialized in front of him soundlessly, "Also, you had a mild concussion and the stab wound on your shoulder was kinda deep so I hope you don't mind the stitches. Don't move around too much. Oh and there was a scar on your left clavicle that was kind of infec-"
"Who are you?" Fushimi cut in with a scowl. "More importantly, where are we?" The room looked oddly familiar. The girl gave him a light grin, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.
"Ah-I was on my way to the hospital after I found you – which by the way is further away than I thought- Anyway, I was dragging you to the hospital and boy, you don't weigh all that much, have you been eating properly?" Fushimi could only stare as the girl prattled on, making ridiculous hand gestures. "You kind of look and feel starved – not that I felt you up in your sleep or something like that - I'm not a pervert! Just that you were bleeding and I had to check for injuries and you look malnutrition and oh my God, starved reminds me, you have no idea how hard it was to get your half unconscious body to take in something. It was like-"
"Why am I not in the hospital?" Fushimi hated hospitals. Loathed them even. The strong smell of disinfectant made him want to puke-but at least had he been in the hospital, the Blue King could have traced his whereabouts. Also- "What date is it?"
"You can ask me how long you've been unconscious, I won't judge you or lie you know." Fushimi stared at the brunette who still had that easy going smile planted on her face.
Annoying.
"Will you shut up and just tell me what I asked?" he snapped. The brunette rolled her eyes and put on a look of feigned hurt.
"Rude. Is that really the way to talk to a person who has been taking care of you for two days?" Fushimi stiffened momentarily before straightening himself up to the fullest.
"I didn't ask you to do that." He shot back icily, giving her the most lethal look he had. The girl didn't even flinch.
"Oooh. Cold aren't we? Anyway, are you allergic to anything?" The random question threw him off. He blinked at the other occupant of the room who was watching him expectantly.
"What?"
Ah yes, ever the eloquent speaker he was. The girl tapped her foot patiently against the floor, rocking her body.
"Allergies." She hummed out, "Are you allergic to anything?" His mind was spinning.
"What do any of my allergies have to do with you?" he demanded, ignoring the raging headache that was slowly developing. The girl beamed at him.
Really, was this girl planning on holding him captive? Was she nuts?
It would be just his luck if she turned out to be.
"I was gonna make you something to eat since all you've had for two days is water and some fruit juice." Fushimi didn't know what was worse. That he'd been down for two days or that someone had forced fruit into his body while he was down.
"You don't have to do anything." He muttered, "I'm leaving." Getting to his feet, he felt the earth beneath him shift. Stumbling a bit, he gritted his teeth and forced himself upright.
This was not the first time he had gone without food and goddamit if he was going to collapse for the second time round. In front of the same person. The girl hadn't moved from her spot from beside the doorway. Shrugging, she turned around and walked out, that stupid grin still frozen in place.
"Suit yourself," she called back over her shoulder, "But just to let you know, a couple of people outside came banging on the front door looking for 'a young dude with black hair and a nasty attitude' and I'm guessing you don't wanna run into them when you're like that. I just wanted to make sure you didn't get mobbed and died on your way back to your house or the hospital. Such a shame it would be after all the time I spent keeping you from going into the light. But if you wanna go out that's fine too." Fushimi scowled. So [JUNGLE] was still hunting him down?
His eyes narrowed at the doorway.
Did he even have a choice?
Annoying.
Making his way through the hallway, he was once again hit by a wave of nostalgia.
Why? Why was this place so familiar?
Dust covered most of the flooring and most of the doors were locked. It wasn't until he reached a certain room which was unlocked did his mouth turn dry and his feet gave way beneath him.
His body shook as he focussed on trying to keep his breathing even, his vision blurring for a moment.
A hysterical laugh forced itself out of his lips as he got to his feet.
Really what were the odds? To end up in that house again? He was still laughing when he felt a hand being placed on his shoulder. In a flash, he had the person pinned to the wall by the throat.
"I'm guessing you finally cracked?" the girl asked cheerfully, ignoring the fact that a person was probably chocking her. Fushimi's grip relaxed. Shuffling away from her, his arm dropped to his side as he glared at her.
"I'm leaving." He said and turned around, making his way towards the staircase. Down the stairs and out the front door. He smirked. The house hadn't changed a bit since he had abandoned it. Still the same cold place it always had been.
"Wait!" he halted in his steps, cursing every deity out there who had put him in this situation. Why couldn't the girl just disappear? A pair of brown eyes blinked at him as she offered him a PDA. He raised an eyebrow.
"And what," he drawled, "am I supposed to do with this?" The girl smiled.
"You should call up a friend to-hey don't walk away! I'm serious!" Fushimi muted out the rest of her rant as he walked over to the main door and yanked it open. Turning back to look at her, he smirked.
"Friends are for the weak" he said offhandedly, "Also if I were you, I'd move out. This place is full of nasty evil ghosts." Slamming the door behind him, he made his way back to the Scepter 4 headquarters.
"It seems that HOMRA's second in command had some information on the strain's whereabouts. Also, we've narrowed the area down to this neighbourhood." Munakata stood in the middle of the room as his subordinates worked around him, his eyes focussed on the large screen mounted on the wall across him.
"Thank you Enomoto-kun. Your work is very much appreciated." He nodded, "Put down that with the rest of the information and we'll analyse it later. It seems-" the rest of his words were cut off by a snort.
"Honestly, I go off for two days and this place is in shambles." Several heads turned in the direction of the door. All activity ceased and everyone's breath got caught in their throats. There, standing and looking as if he were about to kneel over any second, was their infamous hidden weapon user.
"Fushimi-kun…." Munakata said, eyes brightening up. That was all that was needed to break the silence that had engulfed the place. Chairs were pushed back as several pairs of feet rushed to Fushimi's side, demanding to know where he was hurt, what had happened and where he had been. Munakata stepped forward and a hush fell amongst them once more. The crowd parted as the Blue King strode forward and stared down at his third in command, who had been forced into a seat.
"Welcome back Fushimi-kun." He said lightly, his eyes quickly taking in the state of the young man in front of him, "It seems you got into a bit of a hassle while on patrol the other night. I assume you managed to get out of it okay?" The other clicked his tongue.
"Tch-I'm here aren't I?" he muttered looking away. A small chuckle left the older man's lips.
"Yes it appears so. I expect you to give me a full report on where you were but I'm sure you already knew that." Fushimi clicked his tongue once more.
"Right now?" He had expected to be given a bit of time to come up with a suitable story. There was no way he was telling the truth. The walk from his childhood home to the Scepter 4 building was relatively short and had taken him twenty minutes in his current condition. All throughout the walk, he hadn't been able to focus on much except hiding and dodging multiple people from [JUNGLE].
"Is there a problem?" Everyone in the room, held their breaths as the witnessed a stare-down between their King and Fushimi. The younger of the two scowled.
"Not really but I think we have bigger issues to deal with. That red clansman is still missi-" A sharp stab of pain made him cut off whatever he had planned on saying and he hissed involuntarily, wishing he had gone back to the dorms instead.
"Awashima-san take Fushimi-kun to the infirmary." His head snapped up and he glared the man before him.
"I'm fine." He muttered and as if to prove it, pushed himself on his feet. Awashima Seri made a move to force him back down, because really, he looked as if he had died twice and resurrected but the Blue King held her back.
"Really? Pardon me for saying this, but Fushimi-kun you look simply terrible. May I inquire what happened?" Fushimi's eyes met his before he broke off again. Clearly, his King wasn't going to let it go.
"Tch-I've been unconscious for two days, have had severe blood loss and had a mild concussion. Also there's a wound on my shoulder that needed stitches and I'm not sure what that idiot did but it's managing to hold out. On top of all that I have a fractured rib. There! Are you happy now?" Seri made a noise that clearly indicated she was feeling torn between hitting on the head for not mentioning it as soon as he came or mothering him till he was better. Munakata raised an eyebrow.
"Idiot? Pardon me for asking, but were you with someone these past two days?" Fushimi chose not to answer that one and opted to glare at the floor. The sense of helplessness was creeping up on him making him cold all over. A chill seeped in and settled in his bones. Munakata stared at him for a few more minutes before his gaze softened.
"It's good to have you back Fushimi-kun." He said, smiling widely, "Awashima san, make sure he goes to the infirmary will you?"
"Yes sir!" The blonde woman saluted at began to usher the boy out of the office. Once she had confirmed that Fushimi was being taken care of, she pulled out her cell phone. Pressing the first number on her speed dial, she waited for the person on the other end to pick up.
"Hello Seri-chan! What's up?"
"Ah, I just thought I should inform you Fushimi has returned."
"Has he now? Is he okay? Ah wait," the bartender's voice was muffled as he yelled at someone on his side, "OI YATA-CHAN! FUSHIMI-SAN'S BACK SO YOU CAN STOP MOPING AROUND NOW! Ah sorry," he was back on the phone, probably ignoring the stammering of his fellow clansman, "I had to tell him. He's been scaring away my customers with his mood lately…"
"They used to be friends if I heard correctly."
"It's complicated."
"…I see. Nonetheless, I thought I should inform you. Also, we've narrowed down the parameters involving Anna's case."
"Thank you for your help Seri-chan."
"…You're welcome. I have to go. I will message you if anything else turns up."
"Always the cold one aren't you. Goodbye then."
"Goodbye."
Mikoto slowly made his way back to the bar from Scepter 4's building. The red head had spent the past hour cooped up inside, talking to Munakata, deciding their best course of action. Something that would help them find both their missing clansmen. Of course, Munakata kept giving Anna preference over Fushimi which gave Mikoto a sinking feeling that indeed this was not the first time Fushimi had gone missing. True, even in his HOMRA days, Fushimi had often gone off on his own but that was only when Kusanagi had sent him to do something undercover-or something that was very dangerous and probably life threatening. Something he'd keep Yata away from at all costs.
Even if the price was his own head.
Mikoto had never actually cared where Fushimi had disappeared off to but seeing Munakata fret over it made him wonder whether he ought to have. It wasn't that Mikoto didn't care about his clansmen but rather Fushimi had not wanted him to care. The boy had always done things alone.
The bell above the bar's main entrance chimed as the place was suddenly filled with various members of [HOMRA]. Mikoto, who had been comfortably sleeping on the couch, glared at them through one eye blearily. Totsuka Tatara gave him a silly grin, his whole face lighting up with joy.
"King!" he exclaimed, "Guess where we all went today?"
Mikoto did not know nor did he care. As long as they all returned home alive with all their limbs intact, nothing else mattered.
Sitting up, he yawned as the others scattered around the place, assuming different positions all around. One glance told him that Kusanagi was not there and thus the very obvious boisterous display before him. Izumo was most probably either at some dealers, buying more wine or on some underground mission which he did not share with Mikoto-mostly because Mikoto didn't completely understand what the other man was doing.
A small tug on the sleeve of his jacket made him look over at the young strain who had taken her place next to him. Anna gave him a blank look before she turned and stared at Yata. Then she looked back at him.
"The seeds of despair have begun to take root." she said solemnly. Mikoto raised an eyebrow. What?
Before he could ask the young girl to explain, Totsuka came and plopped himself on the couch opposite to him.
"We went to the amusement park again." he chirped. Mikoto raised an eyebrow, pushing the cryptic message at the back of his mind-let Izumo deal with that when he returns.
"Without me?" he teased. Suddenly, all the chatter died down and all the smiles were replaced with looks of panic and alarm. Mikoto smiled bitterly. Right, he couldn't even make jokes about this anymore. Not when he was the King and they were the clansmen. The fear of accidentally upsetting their King was too great making them forget at times that Mikoto was also a human.
A human who felt incredibly lonely all of a sudden.
"I'm kidding." he said, stretching a bit. Relief flooded every face around him, making him wince internally. Did they really believe he would throw a fit if he wasn't invited to their stupid day out?
"You were sleeping and Anna didn't want to disturb you." Yata supplied, still a bit pink in the face. Mikoto shrugged.
Anna once again tugged at his sleeve. This time, he did not turn to face her, and glance at her from the corner of his eye. The young girl was clutching something-no doubt a marble- close to her her chest, her other hand still lingering on his arm. Her face, which usually showed no emotions was filled with worry.
"Mikoto," she called out softly, looking incredibly worried, "The seeds of despair have begun to take root." Mikoto blinked as the young strain got up and made her way to the empty bar and sat down, placing all her marbles in front of her.
The seeds of despair have begun to take root.
Empty bar.
Empty.
"Oi," he called out, once more effectively silencing the whole bar, "Where's Fushimi?" Yata shrugged.
"Haven't seen that asshole since yesterday." He scowled, "All he sent me was a text last night telling me he's gonna be late and he must have come home after I went to bed. He left before I woke up." Totsuka frowned.
"Could it be that Fuhsimi-kun never came home last night?" Yata's eyes widened before he swore loudly.
"That absolute-"
"Saruhiko is in trouble." All eyes turned to look at the young girl amongst them who was staring fixedly on the marbles, "Saruhiko is in trouble but he does not need us." Totsuka got up and walked over to the girl.
"Now, now. What's going on in that head of yours Anna-chan?" Red eyes roamed the bar, wandering over one face to another before settling on Mikoto.
"Saruhiko is red. But he is a tragic red." Yata's eyes were growing wide in alarm.
"O-Oi! What's going on?"
"Saruhiko-"
"Yes?" All faces turned to look at the boy who had materialized out of nowhere. Fushimi raised an eyebrow at all of them, looking a bit perplexed as he went over to his usual spot on the bar.
"SARU! YOU IDIOT, WHERE WERE YOU?" Yata yelled, looking clearly relieved. Fushimi shrugged.
"Can't say, it's a secret." Mikoto opened his mouth to ask –demand whatever, the teen to spill but Anna had moved up to the dark haired gloomy boy. Holding out her hand, she gave Fushimi a hesitant smile.
"Don't disappear." Fushimi sighed and looked away, muttering under his breath. Anna smiled and Mikoto wondered why it looked like it was the saddest thing he had seen on her face in a while.
Hibisha: I hope you enjoyed it. Drop a review!
